This marathon was very incredible. As my first one I didn’t know what to expect. On the road I thought of many things. I thought of MJ and how much I care for her. I thought of my mom and where she may be in the race. I thought of how I wished Mindy could have run with us. I thought of future races. I found myself praying for my mom & for my continued dedication to MJ.

Miles 1-15 I was with Pete and we either stretched or walked every other mile for a minute. We tried to keep a 10 minute milepace. We did pretty good. By mile 15 however we had dropped about 12 minutes behind that goal. Pete had been injured the week before the race, so it was coming back now. He told me to head on out and about mile 15 1/2 I did. I started running faster than before to make up the 12 minutes we had lost. I believe I was doing around 8 minute miles from there on out, perhaps slower once I was sure that I had lessened the time gap. At mile 16 I was surprised to see my dad on the sideline! He came with Mindy, my sister and Cami Jo Massey, Mindy’s friend that I ran the Onion Days (Payson) 10k with. That was a neat turning point since I have never run more than 16 miles before in my life. During training I ran 16 and that’s as high as I got. So to have them there to spur me on was touching.

I don’t think from that point on I ever saw anyone pass me. My head remained mostly down as I had focus from who knows where. I recall passing many people, some gradually and some I ran rather quickly by. I say that not to point out that I’m better, because I’m not, but simply as an observation.

Coming out of the canyon I felt good. I believe there were about 5 or 6 miles left at that point and it was all down hill (btw, not too good on your quads…I was in PAIN for two days straight, faded about day 4 after a run or two, heating, icy-hot, etc). I ran quickly still, but the miles seemed longer than they had at the beginning of the race. :o)

As I came across the finish line sprinting I felt all my leg muscles very tight. I had the chip removed from my shoe and saw MJ waiting there. BOY, what a treat! Coming through that finish line and seeing her there was truly good to my heart.

I walked through the mist set up to cool down runners and then through the medal line. I saw my mom at the first aid station and found out that she had gotten to mile 4 and was in so much pain that the had bus brought her down. Worst pain of her life she said. Turns out she broke her femur. She went into the operating room last Friday to have a bar placed in her leg! And to think, all because I was crazy enough to run a marathon! She didn’t seem at all upset about the event though. All in all I think it was a good experience. Growing up I knew she had run marathons, so now it’s neat to carry on where she left off. We had given her a blessing before the race, the night before, Pete and I. It was the first blessing I had given to my mother. I was touched by the event and so was she. There aren’t too many experiences that we can have that can compare in sacredness than that of a blessing of loved ones.

The race wasn’t as bad for me as I had pictured in my mind. I did it and will do it again. Continual forward motion toward a goal is what brings me fulfillment. Stagnation is particularly damaging to my psychology if nothing else.

One last thing I want to note about the race. As we ran there were aid stations with water, Gatorade and fruit amongst other things. I took the help offered at each stop and was VERY grateful for the support offered by volunteers and paid staff alike. I wouldn’t have been able to do that race without them.

Thanks everyone for the help in finishing my first marathon!